Her daughters. They would be almost twenty-one years old now. Maybe they would have had children of their own. Or they would be in college pursuing their studies and looking forward to interesting and productive careers. There were so many possibilities, or had been. Gone with the slash of a box cutter. She shivered. She did not want to relive the day she had come home to find her family, but her mind couldn’t stop the images from appearing. She had blocked them out for years, but now, when she tried to relax, they came back in full force.
Tessa drove her red Porsche out of the ferry and made a mental checklist of all the extra things Piper and Poppy would need for an extended stay off the island. Anything to distract her from thinking about the horror her daughters had been subjected to. Her eyes flooded with tears, and her heart raced a mile a minute.
No. Not now.
Concentrate on driving home.
She needed to focus on the items she had to pack. She had to focus on the children, on their escape.
Poppy and Piper would need their summer clothes, swimsuits, and sandals, not to mention all their beach gear. Pails, sand molds for their sculptures, floats, and this year she’d promised them they could get boogie boards.
Their crisp white blouses and navy skirts worn at Saint Cecelia’s, the private girls’ school they’d attended since preschool, would be left behind. Tessa would continue their education once this nightmare ended.
Both were avid readers, and she would bring their Kindles and make sure the Harry Potter series and a lengthy list of reading material were loaded on their electronic readers. Of course, she couldn’t forget to bring their brand-new iPads. As much as she disliked it, she knew there would be times when the quirky games they could access would save the girls from complete and utter boredom. To be sure, she would bring plenty of board games, the collection of their favorite movies, which they never seemed to tire of, and an endless supply of drawing paper with brightly colored markers and pencils. Both girls were very artistic and attended advanced art classes every Wednesday afternoon.
Tessa smiled when she remembered the family portrait Poppy had drawn just a few weeks ago. She’d proudly hung it on the refrigerator with her favorite Harry Potter magnet. It was actually quite good except Tessa thought she’d looked pregnant. She wanted to ask Poppy why but didn’t because she feared cramping her artistic style. Maybe it was time to think about another child? Last year, Poppy had asked for a little brother for Christmas. Tessa had laughed, never giving another child much serious thought as she had her hands full with the twins, but now, maybe it was time to reconsider. Joel often hinted he wanted a son. As soon as this horrid nightmare ended, if ever, Tessa promised to give the idea of another child some serious thought.
On her way home after spending parts of the last three days on the mainland preparing for a stay of indefinite length, she was beyond tired as she headed north on Highway 41. Brief flashes of colorful signs zoomed by as she drove past the familiar sights, including the small strip of stores facing the beach. Tessa and the girls had spent many afternoons roaming the stores, shopping, having lunch at their favorite café, and oftentimes spending hours looking for that perfect pair of shoes. Tessa gave a sad grin. Both girls loved shoes, loved trying them on more than anything. Now, however, she wasn’t sure there would ever be another innocent mother-daughter outing since they’d told her what happened. A nightmare both girls had endured for almost a year. The fear in their eyes haunted her, twisted her insides in ways she’d thought had been put to rest.
And now those feelings were back with a vengeance; only now, the degradation had been forced on her daughters.
Anger forced her to press her foot down on the accelerator. Suddenly overwhelmed with the need to be with her girls, Tessa raced along the road. The street was lined with palm trees, and normally Tessa never grew tired of viewing the gallant trees as they stood tall and proud, flanking the road. Now, they passed in a greenish-brown blur.
Tessa thought it a bit too much, but Joel often reminded her of their position, telling her it was his duty to keep his family safe. Kidnapping the children of wealthy businessmen wasn’t unheard of. But all the security they’d provided had not protected any of them from the evil that lurked inside the supposed safety of their home.
Tessa’s sky-blue eyes filled with tears. Her precious daughters, spoiled by that low-life sick form of humanity. She would see to it that he went to prison for a very long time. If not worse.
She punched in the code that opened the gates to the long drive leading to the seven-thousand-square-foot mansion looking out over the ocean, the house that she and Joel called home.
When she had departed on Friday afternoon, Tessa had hated leaving the girls at such a critical time, but it had been necessary in order to protect them from the media and God knows what else. She had not been too successful in protecting them from their uncle. Maybe she could focus her energies on keeping them out of the spotlight. Once she contacted the authorities, she was certain that everything that had happened would be made public. The media hounds would have
